Control for a water closet

ABSTRACT

Water closet supply tanks of the type embodying a float regulating the water supply, according as the level of water rises in said tank. Particularly, a control tank positioned within said water tank, so as to encompass the float and ensure cutting off of the water supply if the discharge valve remains open in the water tank.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Frank D. Biniores [56] References Cited 7817 Arch St., Little Rock, Ark. 72206 UNITED STATES PATENTS [2 P 8851554 373,546 11/1887 Worthington 137/104 [221 PM 16,1969 390 204 10/1888 Clark m1 4/35 45] Patented Apr. 13 1971 e i 391,402 10/1888 Clarke 4/35 830,280 9/ 1 906 Alexander 4/41 2,088,864 8/1937 McGrath 4/41 2,908,018 10/1959 Petrie 4/56 FOREIGN PATENTS 192,801 1/1938 Switzerland 4/35 Primary Examiner-Laveme D. Geiger 54 CONTROL FOR A WATER CLOSET Assistant ExaminerDonald B. Massenberg 6 Claims 4 Drawing Figs. Attorney-David H. Semmes [52] US. Cl 4/41, m

4/35 ABSTRACT: Water closet supply tanks of the type embodying [51} Int. Cl E03d 1/22, a float regulating the water supply, according as the level of E03d 1/00 water rises in said tank. Particularly, a control tank positioned [50] Field of Search 4/27, 31, within said water tank, so as to encompass the float and ensure cutting off of the water supply if the discharge valve remains open in the water tank.

Patenfe'd April 13, 1911 3,574,867

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented April 13, 1911 3,574,867

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY JM/VM ATTORNEY CONTROL FOR A WATER CLOSET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention A great deal of attention has been directed to providing an inexpensive method of preventing continued running or wasting of water when a failure or breakage occurs in the water closet, such as the tank itself, the flush valve, flush-valve seats, stand pipe or overflow pipe, control handle and flushvalve controls including the chain and linkage. It is estimated that a single water closet continuously filling and emptying wastes water equivalent to total water closet usage in 25 homes. Estimatedtotal waste from one water closet. is 4,320

will be cut off. The present invention, onthe other hand, is-

directed to closing of the water supply valve, independently of the operation of the discharge valve. As a result, the water filling valve is closed immediately as the control tank senses a malfunction due to the discharge valve remaining open.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a control tank is placed within the water tank, so that it has an open-ended top encompassing the conventional water tank controlfloat. The control tank has a discharge drain at its bottom and a ballcock seat encompassing the discharge drain. The controltank discharge drain is positioned above the level of the water tank discharge valve and a buoyant ball-cock valve is seated within a ball-cock seat above the drain. As water enters the tank and the tank fills, water enters simultaneously through the discharge drain of the control tank, filling the control tank, lifting the buoyant ball cock and the control float. As the control float rises to the desired level, the water-supply valve is cut off. If the water tank discharge drain remains open and water is continued to be fed into the tank, the ball-cock valve will fall onto its seat, closing the control tank. The closed control tank will then be filled via a control-supply conduit, enabling a rising of the water and the control float, so as to effect a precise cutoff of the water supply independently of the malfunction of the discharge drain.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a partially sectional side elevation of the control tank fitted into a conventional water closet so as to encompass water-control float and control linkage, the water-control float being raised to water cutoff position;

FIG. 2 is a similar view, showing a modified float and ball cock, raised to water cutoff position as the tank fills with water;

FIG. 3 is a partially fragmentary side elevation of the construction shown in FIG. I wherein the control float is raised to water cutoff position in the control tank as the tank discharge remains open and in a state of malfunction; and:

FIG. 4 shows the FIG. 2 modification in emergency watervalve-closed position, as the tank-discharge valve remains open and in a state of malfunction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 is a drawing of a water closet tank and operative parts with a water-valve control tank depicted as tank I I, float chamber and valve seat I2, control float and stem 13, control valve 14', refill Y-fitting 4 and extension tube3. FIG. 2 depicts the ball cock in the closed or off position and the waterclosettank I in the filled stage. It should be noted that inthis drawing the control float I3 has floated upward because of its being surrounded by water and has lifted the control valve 14 into a raised or open position allowing water to flow freely between the control tank 11 and the water closet tank 1 and, therefore, causing the ball-cock float 10 to be in the upward position or off position for the ball cock. During a normal flushing operation, the control tank does not interfere with the normal operation of the ball cock and of the ball cock float 10. In a normal flushing operation, the handle 7 moves the ball valve I5 to an upward position. Asthe water recedes from the water closet tank I, it also recedes from the control tank 11 passing through the float chamber and valve seat 12 and finally through the ball-valve-opening seat 16. This receding water level in' the control tank 11 will allow the ball-cock float 10 to fall to the'lower level andactivate or cause to engage the cock whereupon the ball water inlet refill tube 17 will begin flooding the water closet tank 1 with water and at the same time will be supplying water through the refill tube into the stand pipe oroverflow pipe 5 and, at the same time, supplying water through the Y-fitting 4 and extension tube 3 which will refill control tank Il.

When flush valve I5 is closed or seated, the water level will rise from the bottom of the water closet tank 1 and will cause the float and stem 13 to lift the control valve. 14, creating an equal water level between the water closet tank I and the water-valve control tank II, resulting finally in the raising of the ball-cock float I0 to a level which will cut off or close the ball cock.

FIG. 4 illustrates a situation where the flush valve 15 did not return to its closed position, as in the case of a hanging handle 7. In this event, the ball cock would be open and discharging water through the refill tube 17 and through the extension tube and Y-fitting 3 and 4. Because the water level in the water closet tank I cannot rise due to the leakage (in this case, a hanging flush-valve handle 7), the float and stem 13 and valve 14 will not be floating but will be in the lower position as illustrated in FIG. 4. At the same time, the refill tube 4 is refilling the control tank 11, which causes the ball cock float I0 to rise to itsupper level, as shown in FIG. 2 and, of course, cuts off ball cock from allowing any additional water to be wasted.

In the water closet failure, as illustrated above, the ball cock will run approximately 1 minute or approximately 3 gallons of water before the control tank will fill enough to cut off the ball cock (without a control tank, the ball cock would waste 4,320 gallonsper 24 hours). At this point, the water closet will no longer provide a flushing action, as is apparent in FIG. 4. To reset the water-valve-control tank so that a normal flushing action can again be accomplished, it would be necessary to repair whatever is not allowing the water closet tank 1 to refill (in the above-mentioned example, an adjustment to the hanging flush-valve handle 7).

To reset control tank 11 and water closet tank I for normal operation, you-would simply depress the ball-cock float 10 by hand until the water level within the water closet tank 1 and the water level within the control tank II are up to normal off level as shown in FIG. I.

The built-on tank, as illustrated in FIGS. I and 3, operates in exactly the same manner and uses the same parts and components as the add-on tank, FIGS. I and 2, modified float I0 being supported reciprocably upon ball-cock extension I9.

I claim: I. In a water closet of the type embodying a water tank with a water supply conduit having a ball-cock-filling valve, a ballcock float positioned'in said tank and connected to said ballcock-filling valve and a manually operable discharge drain ball valve, a control tank assembly positioned within said water tank comprising:

a. a water-control tank in communication with said watersupply conduit, encompassing a control float and defining an open top,.and adischarge drain communicating with said water tank near the bottom of said control tank;

b. a float chamber supported above said discharge drain and defining a control-valve seat at its top;

c. a buoyant ball-control float and attached control valve, said float supported within said chamber and said valve supported above said seat, so as to float above and open said seat as the water level rises in said water tank and said control tank and so as to rest upon and close said drain, as the water level falls within said water tank and said control tank.

2. In a water closet, a control tank as in claim 1, said float chamber having a reduced-diameter top aperture defining said seat and coaxially aligned with said float chamber and said control float and control valve consisting of a control valve positioned above said seat and float member positioned beneath said seat, whereby filling of water in said chamber through said discharge drain raises the control valve above said seat and discharge of water through said control drain causes said valve to fall upon said seat and to hold water in said control tank.

3. In a water closet a control tank as in claim 2, the bottom of said control tank being positioned above the level of said discharge drain in said water tank, so hat water filling into said water tank enters said control tank through the dischargedrain float chamber, and valve seat.

4. In a water closet, a control tank as in claim 3, said control tank being positioned upon said water supply conduit such that said float reciprocates upon a vertical extension of said water conduit while being linked to said water-supply-filling valve.

5. in a water closet, a control tank as in claim 3, including an extension tube extending independently from said filling valve to the top of said control tank.

6. In a water closet, a control tank as in claim 5, said control float and control valve further including:

1. a top spherical control valve;

2. a bottom float of greater dimension than said valve seat;

and

3. a relatively thin stem interconnecting said control valve and said control float. 

1. In a water closet of the type embodying a water tank with a water supply conduit having a ball-cock-filling valve, a ballcock float positioned in said tank and connected to said ballcock-filling valve and a manually operable discharge drain ball valve, a control tank assembly positioned within said water tank comprising: a. a water-control tank in communication with said water-supply conduit, encompassing a control float and defining an open top, and a discharge drain communicating with said water tank near the bottom of said control tank; b. a float chamber supported above said discharge drain and defining a control-valve seat at its top; c. a buoyant ball-control float and attached control valve, said float supported within said chamber and said valve supported above said seat, so as to float above and open said seat as the water level rises in said water tank and said control tank and so as to rest upon and close said drain, as the water level falls within said water tank and said control tank.
 2. In a water closet, a control tank as in claim 1, said float chamber having a reduced-diameter top aperture defining said seat and coaxially aligned with said float chamber and said control float and control valve consisting of a control valve positioned above said seat and float member positioned beneath said seat, whereby filling of water in said chamber through said discharge drain raises the control valve above said seat and discharge of water through said control drain causes said valve to fall upon said seat and to hold water in said control tank.
 2. a bottom float of greater dimension than said valve seat; and
 3. a relatively thin stem interconnecting said control valve and said control float.
 3. In a water closet a control tank as in claim 2, the bottom of said control tank being positioned above the level of said discharge drain in said water tank, so hat water filling into said water tank enters said control tank through the discharge-drain float chamber, and valve seat.
 4. In a water closet, a control tank as in claim 3, said control tank being positioned upon said water supply conduit such that said float reciprocates upon a vertical extension of said water conduit while being linked to said water-supply-filling valve.
 5. In a water closet, a control tank as in claim 3, including an extension tube extending independently from said filling valve to the top of said control tank.
 6. In a water closet, a control tank as in claim 5, said control float and control valve further including: 